1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is directed to synthetic manipulations of organic chemicals, and particularly to the chemical reactions of steroids, and to steroids that may be used as starting materials in various chemical reactions, and to steroids that result from the chemical reactions.
2. Description of the Related Art
Steroid structures are commonly used as therapeutic agents. See, e.g., PCT International Publication No. WO 98/02450 and U.S. Pat. No. 6,046,185, among many other documents that discuss the therapeutic efficacy of steroids. Accordingly, there is a need in the art for efficient synthetic reactions that can prepare steroids of a desired structure. The present invention is directed to fulfilling this and related needs as described in detail herein.